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July 06, 2025
 

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Mandy Bartok

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Mandy Bartok
Mandy Bartok currently lives in Kyushu, and she has been a Japan Times contributor since 2009. When not chasing after her exuberant toddler, she blogs about Japan for travelers at uncoveringjapan.com.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 3, 2016
Strolling the quiet alleyways of Nara, Japan's forgotten capital
It's hard playing second fiddle when you used to be first chair. Just ask Nara, Kyoto's underpraised southern neighbor.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 4, 2016
A waterlogged retreat, deep in the mountains of Gifu
For a town so closely associated with water, it's rather fitting that Gujo-Hachiman is shaped like a fish.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 14, 2016
A landscape of life and death in Kyushu
Despite my short stature, I have to bend nearly in half to enter the underground chamber of reconstructed fifth-century tomb in the Kumamoto Prefecture Decorative Tumulus Museum. The entire tomb is modeled after an actual mound in the nearby city of Yamaga, and inside the chamber, a replica stone altar...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 9, 2016
Exploring Tabaruzaka's idyllic but forgotten samurai battleground
The gray spring clouds have given way to a gentle drizzle by the time I pull my car into a spacious parking lot bordering the Tabaruzaka battlefield. It's fitting weather, considering the massive battle that took place here in 1877 in this rural corner north of Kumamoto city was fought in similar conditions....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 30, 2016
The uplifting tones of Okinawan blues
The winter vocabulary of the majority of Japan residents doesn't include the color turquoise. Or aquamarine, azure or the somewhat intellectually pompous "cerulean." This, however, is the palette I attempt to describe with my husband as we turn our tiny rental car onto the bridge leading to Kouri Island,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 23, 2016
Exploring Niigata's snow country
Marred though the view is with power lines and other trappings of modernity, the rainbow that appears at the far end of Tsubame-Sanjo Station seems a rather auspicious beginning. The initial impression that greeted us in front of this largely unpopular station just south of Niigata on the Joetsu Shinkansen...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 2, 2016
Warming to Tsuwano: a wintry visit to the town of fish and foxes
The first official gate to the Taikodani Inari Shrine sits at the turn-off to tiny Tsuwano from the circuitous mountain highway that links Yamaguchi and Shimane prefectures. The shrine's main hall, however, sits on another peak halfway across town, a good five-minute drive away. I let my car idle at...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 31, 2015
Sensory overload in Aomori's capital city
I nearly walk by Aomori's Furukawa market on the first pass, expecting something akin to the cacophony of Tokyo's central wholesale fish market (known casually to most as Tsukiji). Sliding open the door to the squat building, however, I am assaulted with the not unwelcome scent of fresh seafood, an encouraging...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 19, 2015
Kakunodate town: Looking back on historical charm
Despite the fact that we've arrived on a weekend, the parking lot along Kakunodate's river is relatively empty. From our spot under the shady branches, my friends Felicity and Nori and I haul our convenience-store-purchased picnic up to the edge of the walking path that hugs Hinokinai River. The cherry...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 29, 2015
Okinawa: always worth returning to
The island of Okinawa shimmers beneath the wing of our plane, a dark green smudge on the azure seascape. I can't see it well, ensconced as I am in the aisle seat, already subconsciously distancing myself from this visit. But my daughter, on the other end of the row, peers out the window with wide eager...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 1, 2015
Arita fires up a love of pottery, both historical and contemporary
The streets of Arita's Uchiyama porcelain district are mostly deserted this overcast Sunday, a boon for me as I am looking anywhere but at the sidewalk in front of me. My eyes are drawn instead to the parade of restored buildings that front the street, a veritable "name that era" of architectural styles....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 13, 2015
Above and below the Yamaguchi plains
Three meters above my head, the rectangular offering box of Motonosumi Inari Shrine seems impossibly out of my reach. For the 23rd time, I wind back my arm and attempt to lob my chosen donation between the narrow slats. For the 23rd time, the coin takes on a trajectory I'm certain I didn't intend ......
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 23, 2015
Don't build castles in the air, go see Ehime Prefecture's real ones
I'm more than happy to start my day off on a literal high point, but as we tackle the steep incline up to Matsuyama's hilltop castle, I am beginning to doubt our chosen method of arrival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2015
The alluring lofty peaks of Iya Valley
It's late afternoon as my family and I motor into the Iya Valley, a remote region of western Tokushima Prefecture. Billed as many things — a lost paradise, a secret hideaway, a rural escape — by the area's tourism brochures, I find that no adjectives can accurately capture the interplay of light...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 18, 2015
Kochi doesn't need to fish for compliments
The fire is supposed to be searing my skipjack tuna, but I feel as if it's my cheeks that are cooking instead.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 14, 2015
Fukuoka awash with hina dolls and hidden temples
My daughter, having a little girl's predilection for princesses, turns out to be an excellent spotter of kids in kimono.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 14, 2015
Journey of 'eat, pray, bathe' awaits pilgrims to Mount Koya
Although pilgrims have been coming to this center of Shingon Buddhism since its foundation in 816, the 1,200th anniversary of the monastic settlement promises an increase in curious tourists who have heard of Mount Koya's serenity and want to experience it for themselves.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 31, 2015
The mountain village that tried to disappear
Our arrival at Yunishigawa-Onsen Station in Tochigi Prefecture is more than a little disconcerting.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 20, 2014
Soaking up the very best of Wakayama's hot springs
The two sounds occur almost simultaneously: Just as my cellphone alarm begins its melodious chime to rouse me from sleep, the dark clouds above my guesthouse in the town of Tanabe on the Kii Peninsula burst forth with a pounding rain. Within minutes, it's clear that my plans of spending three days hiking...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 8, 2014
Yamadera: 1,000-step staircase to paradise
We're only a few minutes into our climb up one of Yamagata Prefecture's holy mountains, Mount Hojusan, and already our pace has slowed considerably. Our destination is Risshakuji Temple, more colloquially known as Yamadera (literally: "mountain temple"), a far-north outpost of Tendai Buddhism since 860....
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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